Cycling Thread

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

With the zoo pathway closed this whole year basically, what route have people been taking?

I'm not a big fan of cycling up the C-Train station ramps etc. into Bridgeland, I'd rather take a straight road. I've been going Edmonton Trail into McDougall Road and then either Abbot Ave climb or uphill on St. Georges Dr and then down through the Zoo parking lot just to get onto the pathways that are on the other side of the old zoo pathway. It's a bit of extra climbing but there's no real choice.

In the morning when I'm heading eastbound on the north Bow river path I take the St. George's drive exit ramp and cross over Memorial on the road and follow it up and around, cruising down the hill to Telus Spark and then there are 3 pathway exits to get over to the Nose Creek path. Afternoon I just do it in reverse, unless I choose to cruise around Harvie passage and through Inglewood to get to the south side of the Bow.

[worth]

^^ This is my route too. The route the city has for the bike detour in this area is ridiculous.

[Bigtime]

Here's a crappy MS Paint picture of the route:

[81MC]

Fill me in on the fat-bike thing? I hear they are actually amazing for trail riding in the snow? Can they ride snow covered pathways at significant depths, cut trail and ride through powder as well as I've been told?
I'd love something I can ride around town and out in the mountain trails!

[Northendzone]

Fat bikes are big time fun in what winter - there is something surreal about trail riding in the snow. Cutting fresh powder is work though. As for commuting, it would depend on how far your commute is. I believe most winter commuters on here have skinny tired winter bikes.

I rode de bragging rights and Merlin today and just crushed it - 10 personal bests today on strava, and about 6 2nd and third best times. Kept all my stops to two minutes or less. Only frustrating thing was the fact that I slept with n a bit t this morning and the trail was far busier than i am used to.

Also set a personal best at the sugar shake as I had two sausage rolls for breakfast - that place is deadly to eat at

[Baron von Kriterium]

I rode the Elbow Loop - counterclockwise. I have to say that kicked my arse. That was five hours of a helluva lot of work. I have to check my ego and get rid of the single speed.

Strava conked out and lost contact, so only tracked me for 40 km; I think the loop is closer to 50, but it may as well be 200. I noted that the KOM for that loop is just over two hours

Most of the flood damage has been repaired, but the repairs are basically throwing a ton of baseball-sized rocks on the trail. I did not enjoy riding those I have to say.

A difficult day but still better than golf.

[Northendzone]

^ this bad boy and high Rockies trail both remain on my list of trails I need to ride soon.

Forecast is looking good for another week of commuting....makes me sad that my personal life will get in my way and likely prevent me from riding for two days this week

[Bigtime]

Lots of bikes out on the commute this morning, however quite a few (about 5) had no lights at all. It's getting pretty dark in the early hours (this was 0615-0645) so make sure you have them on.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Baron von Kriterium

I rode the Elbow Loop - counterclockwise. I have to say that kicked my arse. That was five hours of a helluva lot of work. I have to check my ego and get rid of the single speed.

Strava conked out and lost contact, so only tracked me for 40 km; I think the loop is closer to 50, but it may as well be 200. I noted that the KOM for that loop is just over two hours

Most of the flood damage has been repaired, but the repairs are basically throwing a ton of baseball-sized rocks on the trail. I did not enjoy riding those I have to say.

A difficult day but still better than golf.

I used to do sub 3 hour rides of that but it's been years. Love the views on that ride.

[Fuzz]

Due to pathway closures, they have put "construction" signs in the bike portion of the Peace bridge. These are large and dangerous, and absolutely unnecessary on an extremely busy crossing. I understand the need to warn cyclists of construction ahead, but one sign at the end of the bridge would suffice. Dunderheads.

[Bigtime]

Much better this morning regarding riders using lights, I woke up early and was on the paths by 6am. Only one rider out of about the 10 I saw had no lights on.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by worth

I have this combo on my bike:

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5051-7...ot-SL-Lightset

There is research being done (mainly by Trek/Bontrager) that running lights during the day significantly reduces the chances of collisions.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/d...unning_lights/

http://bicycletimesmag.com/bontrager...hts-for-bikes/



If you want to run lights in the day you need something a bit more powerful, and the lightset I posted fills that need. I run a flashing red rear light all day and all night whenever I am on the bike.

If you're just concerned about night time, it is more so that others can see you but it is really nice to be able to increase your own visibility also. Anything that MEC carries will be fine. The front LED that Fuzz posted is fine, but I do quite a bit of night riding when they days are short and I really appreciate my front light's ability to actually light up the path in front of me.

To me it is worth spending a bit more to make sure I am visible in all conditions and I can illuminate the road in front of me.

One final note, if you end up purchasing a bright front light, please point it down! If you point it straight out, you will blind other cyclists coming towards you.

I ended up getting the Bontrager Ion 100 and Flare R combo after reading all the advice and studies posted on here. Thank you for the input. It's amazing how bright these things are.

Newb question: Am I supposed to take these off every time I stop for an extended period of time? They aren't cheap and they would be so easy to steal so I'm guessing it's best to bring them with me. Should I be undoing the stretchy strap or sliding them off where they attach to the strap and leave the strap attached?

[KTrain]

Originally Posted by fredr123

I ended up getting the Bontrager Ion 100 and Flare R combo after reading all the advice and studies posted on here. Thank you for the input. It's amazing how bright these things are.

Newb question: Am I supposed to take these off every time I stop for an extended period of time? They aren't cheap and they would be so easy to steal so I'm guessing it's best to bring them with me. Should I be undoing the stretchy strap or sliding them off where they attach to the strap and leave the strap attached?

If I'm locking up my bike I take them off. Probably a good rule to follow. Same with cycling computers.

[lazy_programmer]

My wife had a bad accident where the bike flipped forward. The front tire rim is bent, but the fork and frame look ok. Would someone from a bike shop be qualified to tell me if it's structurally sound?

[Northendzone]

is your wife ok?

I would think most shops could offer an opinion, I doubt they have the equipment to anything more than a visual of the fork.

what material is the fork made of?

[lazy_programmer]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

is your wife ok?

I would think most shops could offer an opinion, I doubt they have the equipment to anything more than a visual of the fork.

what material is the fork made of?

She has multiple fractured ribs, but is recovering well. I'm not sure what material the fork is made of. It's a 19 year old bike and a sticker that says Specialized Rockhopper.

[worth]

I have a specialized rockhopper from the mid 90's and it's a steel frame. But they also made aluminum frames at that time.

You could take it to a framebuilder, there are a couple in Calgary, they might have some insight. One is called Runout and the other is Roche Cycles. I don't have any experience with them however.

Honestly, a 19 year old Specialized Rockhopper isn't really worth anything. If you're worried about it you could find a replacement on Kijiji or Goodlife Bicycles in Mission. Goodlife probably has a fork you could swap it out with.

[Northendzone]

ouch, sorry to hear about her ribs - I cracked a few ribs a number of years ago when I crashed my bike. I found out that T3's really slowed up the digestive system, and that having a slow working system and cracked ribs go together like rollerblading and freezing rain - good times!!!

if the bike is that old, I would not bother sinking much money into it.

How did you wife crash?

[lazy_programmer]

Thanks for the info. I'm not looking to restore the bike or anything, just thinking if I could easily determine if the rest of the bike was good, just replace the front rim, as it is perfect for our riding needs.

She was riding with a bunch of kids, going down hill, a kid in front suddenly brakes, she brakes hard but also hits a small dip and flips.

Since it looks like I'll probably be replacing the bike, does this bike seen decent? https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5053-3...ao-X-2-Bicycle Mainly we ride around the bike path and camp sites with the kids.

[tete]

My husband and I headed up the 10th St. LRT bridge this morning to avoid the construction, to find that they've decided to paint the handrails of that bridge right now, leaving one lane only for a chunk of the bridge. Why did they decide to do this now, when there will be more traffic on it? Hopefully it's done quickly, when we passed by, there were cones and paint supplies out, but nobody around.